


It's Good to Know

by SierraNovembr



Series: Bucky Barnes learns to be loved [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Ficlet, Kisses, M/M, Sweet, Tony Stark Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 18:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SierraNovembr/pseuds/SierraNovembr
Summary: It should hurt; it should burn and ache to admit to the fella he's gone on that Bucky might be a bleeding mess inside while at the same time clinging to the hope Tony can love him anyway.[For my Bucky Barnes Bingo square U3: blankets and my Tony Stark Bingo square A3: free]





	It's Good to Know

Bucky does realize that Tony wants him to be happy. It takes a while, after everything, after the sort of people that have made up the bulk of his experiences, for the former Winter Soldier to move from suspecting it, to knowing to _understanding_ , but Bucky gets there.

Tony wants him to be _happy_.

As if that weren’t miracle enough, Tony _wants him_ and is willing to let Bucky stumble his way into this – whatever this is that they are building together. Tony is warm and slow and careful and Bucky is thawing. More than that. Sometimes Tony laughs at something Bucky says and he can feel his knees threaten to give up and drop him right there on the street. He’s fucking _gooey_. 

Other times, it’s all Bucky can do not to drop to his knees in front of Tony to swallow him down until he’s begging Bucky to never, ever, stop.

When they finally do get their night together, truly together in an actual bed, Bucky nearly worries himself right back out of it. Because here they are – Bucky is just running his hands down Tony’s flank, marveling at the feel of his muscles under soft skin at last – and Bucky is ready to hand Tony his entire heart.

In a basket. With a little red and gold bow on top.

The parts of himself that are still trapped in survival mode – that probably always will be – are screaming at him to run, get away. He’s been stupid, to fall like this. His brain is already weighing the pros and cons of adopting the ghost story persona once again when Tony leans up, kisses his shoulder, and slips from the bed. He pauses a few steps away and says, “I’m gonna make some cocoa for us.” His voice is soft and accepting. He pads out to his small private kitchen in only his boxers, leaving the door open behind him.

Bucky sits in a pool of blankets, staring at the empty space where Tony had been. The open door. He had known he wasn’t a prisoner at the tower, obviously, but somehow it isn’t until right here that he really _knows_ it. In the wake of Bucky’s hesitation and Tony’s easy acceptance, Bucky’s heart swells with feeling. He loves Tony. It’s so easy, inevitable. The sentiment roars up in his chest with Tony’s willingness to give Bucky space and the patience he has always shown in waiting for Bucky come back to him when he’s ready.

Tony would probably even let Bucky go, leave, disappear, if he knew Bucky really wanted to. His face would crumple up in the way it does when someone has hurt him, though. Just the thought of it is enough to curl his lip and make him want to hit something. Bucky takes a deep breath. He straightens the blankets and sheets a little, trying to organize the jumble in his mind for a moment. He doesn’t have much success with either endeavor, so eventually, he throws his hands up in defeat and goes to find Tony.

The hot chocolate is delicious, but it’s Tony’s crinkle-eyed smile that warms Bucky from the inside. After they have drunk the mugs down to the dregs, Tony slips a gentle, calloused hand through the crook of Bucky’s elbow. “Hey, Bucks, you alright?”

Bucky stares down into warm brown eyes and an honest, “I don’t know,” slips out between his lips. Three tiny, honest words that drop, knife-sharp in the space between them. It should hurt; it should burn and ache to admit to the fella he’s gone on that Bucky might be a bleeding mess inside while at the same time clinging to the hope Tony can love him anyway.

It doesn’t. It feels – clean. Safe. Bucky trusts Tony, believes in him with a comfortable faith he could barely imagine before he found a home here. Bucky tugs him into a hug, enfolds him in his arms, holds on. He can hear Tony’s heartbeat, feel it against his own chest. Tony can surely hear the way that Bucky’s breathing stutters when he feels Tony’s fingers creep into his hair.

In a few minutes, he’ll try again, lead Tony through to the bedroom with gentle words and touches. Bucky _wants_ Tony, wants their first night together, and all the rest to come. But for now, Bucky kisses him, loves him, pledges himself to Tony in the privacy of his own mind. With all the breath he has left in this world.

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet actually concludes this little series - I tried to get them to bed together, but it just went a different way. Thank you for reading and your feedback!


End file.
